{"id":19271,"date":"2016-08-28T23:33:45","date_gmt":"2016-08-28T15:33:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/theyre-not-saying-its-aliens-but-signal-traced-to-sunlike-star-sparks-seti-interest\/"},"modified":"2016-08-28T23:33:45","modified_gmt":"2016-08-28T15:33:45","slug":"theyre-not-saying-its-aliens-but-signal-traced-to-sunlike-star-sparks-seti-interest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/theyre-not-saying-its-aliens-but-signal-traced-to-sunlike-star-sparks-seti-interest\/","title":{"rendered":"They\u2019re not saying it\u2019s aliens, but signal traced to sunlike star sparks SETI interest"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_270411\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-270411\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-270411\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160828-ratan-telescope-2-630x473.jpg\" alt=\"Image: RATAN-600 telescope\" width=\"630\" height=\"473\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160828-ratan-telescope-2-630x473.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160828-ratan-telescope-2.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-270411\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">SETI researchers say an intriguing radio spike was detected last year by the RATAN-600 radio telescope. (Credit: SAO RAS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>SETI researchers are buzzing about a strong spike in radio signals that seemed to come from the direction of a sunlike star in the constellation Hercules, known as HD 164595.<\/p>\n<p>The signal conceivably fits the profile for an intentional transmission from an extraterrestrial source \u2013 but it could also be a case of earthly radio interference, or a microlensing event&nbsp;in which the star\u2019s gravitational field focused stray signals coming from much farther away.<\/p>\n<p>In any case, the blip is interesting enough to merit discussion by those who specialize in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, or SETI \u2013 including Centauri Dreams\u2019 Paul Gilster, who brought the case into the public eye this weekend.<\/p>\n<p>At least two SETI research groups are aiming to track HD 164595 tonight. The SETI Institute is using the Allen Telescope Array in northern California, while METI International is looking to the&nbsp;Boquete Optical SETI Observatory in Panama.<\/p>\n<p>Gilster reports that the signal spike was detected more than a year ago, on May 15, 2015, by the RATAN-600 radio telescope in Zelenchukskaya. That facility is in the Russian republic of Karachay-Cherkessia, not far from the Georgian border.<\/p>\n<p>The apparent source of the signal, HD 164595, is interesting for a couple of reasons: It\u2019s a sunlike star, about 95 light-years away from Earth, and it\u2019s already known to have at least one \u201cwarm Neptune\u201d&nbsp;planet&nbsp;called HD 164595 b. \u201cThere could, of course, be other planets still undetected in this system,\u201d Gilster says.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Breakthrough Initiatives Launch Highlights\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/f9pqgqhVrgk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The case has been compared to the one-time-only \u201cWow Signal\u201d of 1977, or the more recent controversy over KIC 8462852, also known as \u201cTabby\u2019s Star\u201d or the alien-megastructure star.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s been no word of a sequel to HD 164595\u2019s blip in the more than 15 months since it was recorded. Nevertheless, Gilster says it\u2019s&nbsp;due for discussion at next month\u2019s International Astronautical Congress in Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>The researchers behind the detection, led by Nikolai Bursov of the Russian Academy of Sciences\u2019 Special Astrophysical Observatory, rate HD 164595 as a good candidate for SETI investigation.&nbsp;\u201cPermanent monitoring of this target is needed,\u201d they say.<\/p>\n<p>Doug Vakoch, president of San Francisco-based METI International, said his research group would try observing HD 164595 as early as tonight, weather permitting, with the Boquete Optical SETI Observatory. In an email to GeekWire, he explained why he and other SETI scientists have an obligation to follow up on intriguing prospects:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cStandard SETI protocols call for confirmation of possible signals from a separate observatory. This helps ensure that the original signal didn\u2019t arise from a technical glitch in the original observatory, and it helps rule out a hoax perpetuated by some enterprising graduate students targeting a SETI experiment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the past, plans for SETI follow-up observations have focused on confirmation of the original signal, seeking a repeat signal at the same frequency. That\u2019s a critical step for confirmation \u2013 and we don\u2019t yet have evidence that this sort of follow-up has happened for HD 164595.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn addition, we need to be alert to the possibility than if we do really find a signal from an advanced civilization, they are also transmitting at other frequencies than the one where we first detected them. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to prepare for follow-up SETI observations at both radio and optical frequencies, to be launched as soon as we detect a credible candidate signal at <em>any<\/em> frequency.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Vakoch was involved in follow-up observations of KIC 8462852 last year, and he plans to keep watch on Proxima Centauri as well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Update for 9:30 p.m. PT Aug. 28:<\/strong> Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif., weighed in on HD 164595 in an email to GeekWire:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThis is a bit of a puzzling story, as the Russians found this signal a year ago or so, but just didn\u2019t let others know. That\u2019s not good policy, as what you really want is confirmation at another telescope, but\u2026&nbsp;Is it real?&nbsp; The signal may be real, but I suspect it\u2019s not ET.&nbsp; There are other possibilities for a wide-band signal such as this, and they\u2019re caused by natural sources (or even terrestrial interference).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just did a quick calculation of how much wattage they\u2019d need to wield from 94 light-years (I think that\u2019s the distance) in order to produce the apparently received signal, and that would be a big utility bill, even if they were directing the transmission (as opposed to broadcasting equally in all directions).&nbsp; It\u2019s also the case that the <em>known<\/em>&nbsp;planet around the star is in an awfully tight orbit, which means it\u2019s probably a place that\u2019s hotter than Seattle\u2019s best restaurant.&nbsp; Of course, there could be other planets there \u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, not too much to say so far.&nbsp; However, we\u2019re looking at this object with the Allen (not Alan) Telescope Array as I speak to you!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><em>Check out Gilster\u2019s full report about HD 164595 on Centauri Dreams, and be sure to read the comments.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SETI researchers say an intriguing radio spike was detected last year by the RATAN-600 radio telescope. (Credit: SAO RAS) SETI researchers are buzzing about a strong spike in radio signals that seemed to come from the direction of a sunlike star in the constellation Hercules, known as HD 164595. The signal conceivably fits the profile [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4409,5516,3754],"class_list":["post-19271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-aliens","tag-hd-164595","tag-seti"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19271"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19271\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}